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Month in Review

My name is Mary Fetchet, and I am here with my husband Frank. I want to thank Senator Blumenthal for inviting us today to talk about a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. On 9/11, our 24 year old son Brad died when a commercial airline commandeered by terrorists was flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Brad was one of the 2,977 innocent citizens that were senselessly killed that day.

In response to our loss, I founded Voices of September 11th, using my professional skills as a social worker to create an organization that provides long-term support services for families, responders and survivors, and to assist communities impacted by other traumatic events, many of whom are still suffering the consequences of a traumatic loss. More.

VOICES New Jersey office is enriched by the wonderful social work interns who come to us through our partnership with Rutgers University. Since the New Jersey office opened in 2009, we have been fortunate to have students from the School of Social Work participate in our academic year internships, where they work alongside of staff to provide support services and assist with educational and commemorative events.

This year, we were privileged to have Katie Loane and Cara Leahy as part of the VOICES team. Katie and Cara are graduating from Rutgers and will continue their educations as Advanced Standing students in the University's MSW program. More.

Through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, VOICES has created Voices of Experience: Helping Communities Heal After Traumatic Events, a training program based in part on the research findings from our Preparing for After Resource Kit.

The training assists communities in preparing for acts of terrorism, mass violence, and natural disasters and is intended for a broad range of community stakeholders. VOICES team and partner organizations conducted two pilot sessions of the training, in Brigantine, NJ and at our New Brunswick office. More.

On Sunday, April 24, VOICES participated in the 9/11 Memorial's 5K Run/Walk and Community Day, along with our partners from the Mental Health Association of New York City.

Visitors to VOICES booth received information on the World Trade Center Health Program and participated in a Memorial Quilt arts project, creating squares in memory of the responders and survivors who have died of 9/11-related illnesses. Pictured above with VOICES Project Director Stephanie Landau is September 11 Memorial & Museum President Joe Daniels. More.

It was with great sadness that we heard the news that Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, the former Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York, passed away on Friday, April 9.

As you know, in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11th, Dr. Hirsch was responsible for coordinating the monumental effort to identify the remains of our loved ones. We had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Hirsch when we worked alongside other family members to establish a uniform notification process to contact families. Over the years, Dr. Hirsch was also a regular attendee at our Annual Information Forum, where he met with family members to share information about their ongoing efforts to identify those who died. More.

Mary Fetchet, LCSW, a mother and clinical social worker, lost her 24-year-old son, Brad, on Sept. 11, 2001 — one of 2,977 who perished in the attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Despite her grief, she used her 20 years of expertise as a mental health professional to establish Voices of September 11th (VOICES) — now an internationally recognized organization providing services for victims' families, responders and survivors. More.

Voices of September 11th (VOICES) will host its annual New Jersey symposium, "Promoting Resilience in Communities Impacted by Trauma" on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.

The all-day symposium, to be held at the Livingston Campus Student Center at Rutgers University in Piscataway, features presentations and panel discussions led by subject matter experts and clinicians working in the field of trauma, grief and disaster mental health. More.

Thanks to the generous support of our donors and partners, VOICES has been able to provide hope and healing to those impacted by traumatic events.

Our staff continues to provide critical support services to over 5,100 9/11 families, responders and survivors. We offered a wide range of programs, including distributing information, referrals, assessments, teleconference groups and conferences. Our dedication to the 9/11 community remains steadfast, and we are equally committed to using our expertise to help families and communities impacted by other tragedies. More.

Many people face unspeakable loss of a family member or witness the suffering and loss of a loved one with the wounds of war. They wonder how they will go on. In this show you will hear the personal stories of four people who have faced such loss and taken on survival missions that translate heartache into help and hope for others.

You will hear from Mary Fetchet Co-founder of the Voices of 9/11 whose outreach to others in the aftermath of losing her son on 9/11has touched many worldwide; Rogerlyn Cipriano Esq., founder of Angels for Warriors whose concern for her veteran brother’s anguish and pain became translated into an important mission for veterans, particularly pro bono legal help; and Dr. William and Bev Feigelman, mental health professionals who in the aftermath of losing their son to suicide co-authored Devastating Losses: How Parents Cope with the Death of a Child to Suicide or Drugs and became spokesmen and clinicians to prevent suicide and respond to family survivors. More.

On this webinar Dr. Gloria Horsley, Dr. Heidi Horsley, and Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, are joined by Mitch Carmody in a discussion of strategies for getting through the Holidays following the death of a loved one. Mitch is the author of Letters to My Son: Turning Loss into Legacy. More.